How did Rome become a preeminent Empire? How did they serially incorporate regions? To answer these questions we are conducting the archaeological excavation of Libarna, a unique Roman colonial site in North-West Italy. It was founded in 148 BCE right after the Second Punic War when Rome became the dominate power in the Mediterranean. By studying the material culture of the inhabitants we hypothesize we will be able to detect changes to the local indigenous and immigrant populations.